8 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE COLLEGE GUIDE 2015-16

9

Get to know your guidance counselor. Their job is to help you be fully prepared for college. “We divide the students by alphabet,” Heimann says, “and we stick with those kids all four years. We have individual meetings with juniors at the end of the year to plan senior year and make sure they’ve taken all the courses they need.”

Keep an eye out for college events and fairs hosted by your high school, like Fairdale High’s ê*HWWLQJ�,Që�QLJKW��ZKHUH�ĆQDQFLDO�

aid information and helpful statistics about local colleges are given out. These events help get the college conversation started between you and your family, so you can be on the same page.

Challenge yourself in classes now. The more effort you put into your classes in high school, the easier the transition to college will be.

Get on campus. See if your high school puts together groups for college campus visits (your guidance counselor will know) or schedule a visit through the college’s website.

Think about what you want out of college. “Students really need to be connected to a personal plan DQG�JRDO�WR�UHDOL]H�WKHLU�FROOHJH�

success dreams,” says Royster. “Students know they should go to college, but without those concrete goals and understanding why they must go to college, they tend to either not enroll or drop out.”

Once you’ve applied to college, avoid “summer melt.” That’s the term for the percentage of graduating seniors who intend to enter college but don’t end up enrolling. The most recent estimate, from fall 2013, is 20 percent of JCPS seniors. Here are some tips to stay motivated over the summer after graduation:

Stay up-to-date with your college: Snail mail, email, Twitter, Facebook — whatever works best for you. Just stay connected! Because schools might be sending you important info about RULHQWDWLRQ��ĆQDQFLDO�DLG�DQG�\RXU�

classes for the fall.

Post-Secondary Pep Rally

Build a support system: Who are the people in your life who have been there for you? They could be family, friends, people in your community, etc. If you run into any snags with college processes or forms, make sure to reach out, because these people want to see you succeed! Building this support system could be your key to success. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.

Remember to keep your guidance counselor and college rep in your corner: They, too, want to see you succeed. Call them up or send them an email with any questions you have. They’re available to answer questions even during the summer.

Sign up for reminder texts: You, your parents, and community DGYRFDWHV�FDQ�VLJQ�XS�IRU�WH[W�

message reminders about upcoming college deadlines. Students just need to text STUDENT55 to 96714, and parents should text PARENT55 to 96714.

According to the most recent annual report from 55,000 Degrees (an organization working to increase local college graduation rates), more Jefferson County Public Schools students are graduating from high school, but the college-going rate has been retreating.

Pamela Royster, the college/career readiness specialist with Jefferson County Public Schools, and Volinda Heimann, a guidance counselor at Fairdale High School, gave these tips for students beginning the process of thinking about college:

Tip SheetTip Sheet

16 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE COLLEGE GUIDE 2015-16

“I think the best decision I made was to join student government. I never thought that type of thing was for me; however, I ended up loving it and served all four years. I know it led to great connections, which led to great jobs!”

—Ann Marie Kelly, executive director, Young Professionals Association of Louisville (Bellarmine University, 2011)

“The best decision I made in college was to study DEURDG�b,�WUDYHOHG�WR�6SDLQ�DQG�GLG�DQ�LQWHUQVKLS�

at a real estate company, meeting with clients DQG�DQVZHULQJ�WKH�WHOHSKRQHV�b,W�WDXJKW�PH�KRZ�

to adapt to my surroundings, perform under pressure and conduct business in a foreign market.”

—David Haney, attorney, Gwin Steinmetz & Baird (Transylvania, 2006)

“My best decision was going to a school outside of Louisville. Louisville has been my home for most of my life and I moved to Cincinnati when I attended ;DYLHU�b%HLQJ�DZD\�IURP�KRPH�WDXJKW�PH�KRZ�

to live on my own, take responsibility for myself, and made me miss Louisville. Leaving the city for a few years and coming back has really made me appreciate and love this city even more.”

—Lauren O’Connor, training and development coordinator, Northwestern Mutual (Xavier University, 2009)

“I think many students are scared off by the

competition aspect of applying for scholarships

with study-abroad programs (the ‘I won’t

get it’ effect), or the tedious process of some

applications. I certainly felt like there were more

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ended up having the life-changing opportunity

of studying in England and Italy because of two

scholarships I applied for. There are so many

opportunities like that for college students that

pass people by because they don’t seek them out

or take the time and effort to apply.”

—Benjamin Siegel, law student, University of Louisville (Bellarmine University, 2012)

“I always excelled in accounting and math. My

forte was never writing, but I took a literature

class and everything in that class was essay, of

course. At the end of the class, the professor said

people didn’t do very well. He told everybody to

OHDYH�H[FHSW�ĆYH�SHRSOH��LQFOXGLQJ�PH��$QG�KH�

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to say, ‘Hey, you can do whatever you set your

mind to do.’”

—Robin Corbett, branch manager, BB&T (Spalding University, 2012)

“I’d say the best decision I made in college was

to actively seek out an internship in an area that

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junior and senior years, I was able to intern for

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three separate legislative sessions, which was an

important opportunity for me to not only learn

about the legislative process, but it also allowed

me to understand that law, in some form, was

what I was passionate about as a career.”

—Daniel Mudd, attorney, Frost Brown Todd (University of Kentucky, 2007)

“Changing my major from basically a very

regimented, pre-med-track double major to just

biology allowed me to minor in environmental

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time for otherwise. That is how I ended up in grad

school for earth and environmental sciences to

get my master’s!”

—Caitlin Boblitt, graduate student, University of Chicago (University of Louisville, 2012)

“I think the best decision I made in college was

taking the time to plan out my schedule every

week. I used to write out a detailed plan each

week of what I wanted to accomplish and when

I planned to get it done. I tried to be as detailed

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planner with my class schedule, what I planned to

accomplish during the breaks between classes,

and even when I planned to exercise (at least in

College students are expected

to make a few bad decisions

before graduation. (For

reference, see any movie ever

made about college.) It’s part of

the learning process, right? But

during that process, there’s also

a lot of room for good decisions.

We asked 15 professionals

and graduate students to tell us

about the best decisions they

made in college.

Good

Moves

Good

Moves

17

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— Drew Eckman, attorney, Frost Brown Todd

(University of Louisville, 2011)

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— Megan Devine, vice president of client

relations, US Chia (University of Louisville, 2014)

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— Nick McRae, owner, McRae Technologies

(Sullivan University, 2007)

ê7UDYHOLQJ��QRW�RQO\�RQ�URDG�WULSV�IRU�VSHFLDO�RFFDVLRQV��VXFK�DV�VSRUWLQJ�HYHQWV��EXW�DOVR�DEURDG��7UDYHOLQJ�JDYH�PH�D�PXFK�PRUH�KROLVWLF�YLHZ�RI�WKH�ZRUOG�DQG�DOVR�WDXJKW�PH�DERXW�P\VHOI�PRUH�WKDQ�D�FODVVURRP�VHWWLQJ�HYHU�GLG�ë

æ�$OOLVRQ�+HEHUW��ĆQDQFLDO�PDQDJHPHQW�SURJUDP��

General Electric (University of Louisville, 2014)

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— Tyler Chesser��realtor, Real Property Management (University of Louisville, 2011)

ê/LYLQJ�DW�KRPH�VDYHG�D�ORW�RI�PRQH\��DQG�QRZ�,�KDYH�PRUH�PRQH\�WR�VSHQG�ZLWK�P\�IULHQGV��$QG�GRLQJ�LQWHUQVKLSV�LQ�FROOHJH�KHOSHG�PH�JHW�P\�MRE�DIWHU�FROOHJH��$OVR��JHWWLQJ�P\�PDVWHUèV�ULJKW�DIWHU�FROOHJH��EHFDXVH�QRZ�,�VHH�P\�IULHQGV�JRLQJ�EDFN�WR�VFKRRO��,�MXVW�JRW�WKDW�RXW�RI�WKH�ZD\��DQG�WKDW�KHOSHG�PH�JHW�P\�MRE��WRR�ë

— John Ackerman, tax accountant, EY (Bellarmine University, 2013)

ê&KRRVLQJ�WKH�FROOHJH�WKDW�,�ZHQW�WR�ZDV�YHU\�FRPSOHPHQWDU\�WR�ZKHUH�,�FDPH�IURP��,�FDPH�IURP�D�VPDOO�WRZQ��DQG�,�IHOW�OLNH�LW�KDG�HYHU\WKLQJ�WKDW�D�FROOHJH�VKRXOG�KDYH�ZKLOH�NHHSLQJ�PH�LQ�D�VPDOO�WRZQ�DWPRVSKHUH�WKDWèV�NLQG�RI�VKHOWHUHG�DQG�FRQWUROOHG��,�IHOW�OLNH�WKDW�ZDV�WKH�RQO\�ZD\�,�ZDV�UHDOO\�HYHU�JRLQJ�WR�DFFRPSOLVK�P\�JRDOV�ë

æ�6FRWW�*UDQW��FHUWLĆHG�SXEOLF�DFFRXQWDQW�

(Murray State University, 2007)

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— Olivia Feldkamp��graduate student, University of Louisville (University of Louisville, 2013)

20 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE COLLEGE GUIDE 2015-16

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FAFSA FactsFAFSA FactsWe can’t get you excited about filling out a financial aid form, but we can give you these suggestions to make it less stressful.